Large crowds of demonstrators took to the streets across Russia today to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Navalny. Authorities have deployed a massive police force to crack down on the demonstrations, and more than 4,000 people are reportedly under arrest. U.S. Secretary of State John Blinken condemned the Russian government’s brutal actions.
Russian authorities deployed thousands of police in riot gear from Vladivostok in the Far East to St. Petersburg, the second-largest city on the Baltic Sea, to prepare for the second straight weekend of mass demonstrations, AFP reported. The center of the capital, Moscow, was also closed today as a result.
The independent watchdog group OVD-Info said at least 4,027 demonstrators have been arrested across Russia so far, including 1,167 in Moscow and 862 in St. Petersburg. Allies of Alexei Navalny have also revealed on social media that his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, was also arrested during the demonstrations.
Navalny, 44, was arrested at the airport upon his return in mid-January and is being held in Matrosskaya Tishina prison in Moscow awaiting trial. He is charged with several criminal offences and faces several years in prison. Western countries have called for his release.
In a rare development in several years, police cordoned off Moscow’s city center today, with hundreds of police officers standing guard along the streets, the city’s metro stations closed and pedestrian movement restricted.
Demonstrators had hoped to gather outside the headquarters of the Russian Federal Security Service to protest, but the organizers changed the location at the last minute and the crowd ended up scattering to several locations around the city.
AFP reporters witnessed dozens of protesters being arrested and escorted to police vans. It was unclear how many people were involved in the chaos.
Hundreds of people marched through central Moscow toward Matroskayatishna prison, chanting “Freedom!” and “Vladimir Putin (Russia’s president) is a thief!”
Police followed behind the group, breaking up the crowd and using loudspeakers to broadcast a pre-recorded message warning that the rally was illegal under Communist Party of China virus disease (COVID-19) prevention regulations.
“Those in power don’t want to listen to anyone or any opinion,” Darya, a 34-year-old veterinarian, told AFP at the Moscow demonstration.
In St. Petersburg, police blocked Nevsky Prospekt, the main thoroughfare, and closed the metro station, while parked police cars were seen all over the city center, according to an AFP reporter.
Natalya Grigoryeva, who brought her daughter along to the demonstrations in St. Petersburg, said: “The whole city center is surrounded by a cordon. Who is this all against? Against their own people?”
Newly appointed Antony Blinken tweeted today, “The U.S. condemns the 2nd week of brutal treatment of peaceful protesters and journalists by Russian authorities. We again demand that Russia release those arrested and exercise their human rights.”
For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry fired back in a statement on Facebook saying, “It is a proven fact that the U.S. is seriously interfering in Russia’s internal affairs, just as Washington-controlled online platforms are promoting disinformation and calling for illegal rallies.”
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